Quiet Like The Snow
by AFangirlofSorts
Summary: Jackson Overland, a fun and carefree teen with a bright smile. Elsa Arendelle, the mystery girl of the school with clear eyes. When Jackson ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time he learns the world is not at all what it seems. In the town of Burgess, there is more crime that meets the eye and his former best friend has a connection to the vigilante, Snow Queen.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A Jelsa story I had been playing around with for the last couple of days, hope you enjoy.**

 ***Side Note* Jack looks like a combination of human Jack and Spirit Jack. He has pale skin and light brown hair. One of his eyes is blue while the other is brown. I couldn't decide whether or not he should have brown or blue eyes so I gave him both. A striking look.**

 **Reviews are nice, but no flames, you'll melt the ice.**

 **Summary:** Jackson Overland, a fun and carefree teen with a bright smile. Elsa Arendelle, the mystery girl of the school with cerulean eyes. When Jackson ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time he learns the world is not at all what it seems. In the town of Burgess, there is more crime that meets the eye and his former best friend has a strong connection to the vigilante, Snow Queen.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Hi**

The crescent moon sat high in the sky amongst a sea of stars, the white glow of the moon giving light to the barren streets of Burgess, Pennsylvania. It was the middle of September, but already there was a chill in the air that screamed winter was well on it's way. The wind blew soft, making a small wisps of noise as it flowed through the town.

Walking down the empty sidewalk, a man walked with his head down, concealing a valuable object. The man continued to walk, hunched over with vigilant brown eyes. He was worried someone was watching him, that someone was going to jump out and take the precious cargo he carried.

It was dangerous to wander these streets at night. It was late, nearing midnight. The man was completely alone, or so he believed himself to be alone out on the open streets. Cerulean eyes, clear as water and blue as the sky, watched him from above. Despite what most people believed about her, it was easier for her to see in the dark than it was in the light.

 _If you can fight in the dark as well as you do in the light, no one will stand in your way._

She stood up from her crouched position on the roof, the cold air brushed her bare arms sending a pleasant chill throughout her body. The urge, the desire to use her best weapon was strong and the cool air wasn't helping her fight. Her nimble fingers, covered by the white gloves she wore, were itching to break free and get out into the open. Taking a quick breath, she ran across the roof not making a sound.

The mission was simple, stop the hooded man and retrieve the object he stole. Two steps, one shot that she would have to take. The girl made it the edge of the roof and jumped onto the next roof a few feet away. Once she landed, a little roughly, she bolted forward, her eyes trained on the hooded man as he rounded a corner into an alleyway. She jumped off the roof, the cloak she wore worked as a makeshift parachute allowing her to float to the ground with ease.

Strands of her platinum blonde hair fell over her forehead and eyes, but she brushed them out of the way. With her blue dagger in hand, she raced down the sidewalk and after the man. _Now or never_ , the girl thought to herself as she made her way to the alley. It was darker in the alleyway without the aid of the street lights, but she could make out the pipes, the dumpster bin on her right and what she assumed were ladders on each side.

 _If he tries to escape, he will go for the ladders,_ she thought to herself. She broke her icy gaze forward, standing in front of the brick wall several feet away from her was the man she had been following. It wouldn't be hard to make sure he didn't get away from her, all she had to do was keep him cornered.

"You're trapped," the girl stated coldly, "We don't have to fight. Return what you stole and we can both be on our way."

The man turned around, his face hidden by the shadows in which he was hiding in.

"Who would have thought," the man said in a burly voice, "The Snow Queen has decided to grace me with her presence. You want the box girlie, come and get it."

The Snow Queen narrowed her blue eyes. In one swift movement she threw her dagger at the man. It pierced through the air and cut his right ear sending a quick pulse of pain through him. Before he had time to react, the Snow Queen pounced on him the way a predator would attack their prey. She kicked his ribs, he released a gasp of pain and surprise as he fell to the ground, the box he had been carrying landing a few feet away from him.

Lying on his back, inhaling sharply, he looked up at the Snow Queen, her face still hidden by the hood and mask she wore. However her blue eyes burned into him like fire, it oddly reminded him of how ice could be so cold as to burn someone. The Snow Queen kneeled beside the man, she never looked away from his eyes as she pressed her hand down on the spot she had kicked him.

He sucked in a breath sharply, gritting his teeth so he wouldn't cry out. The smile on Snow Queen's face sent shivers down the man's spine, she was enjoying this. Her smile widened when she pressed on another rib and he didn't hold back a groan.

"That's two ribs either broken or fracture," the Snow Queen said, "If I press it with enough force and at the right angle, I will get the bone to puncture your lung."

In order to make her point, she pressed on his rib harder than before and he gasped in pain.

The Snow Queen smiled, "If that happens you will drown in your own blood before anyone else will be able to find you. Now tell me. Why did you steal this? You broke into a jewelry store and only stole one item, that doesn't make sense."

The man kept his mouth closed in a firm line in an act of defiance. The Snow Queen glared, without warning she punched his bruised ribs and he cursed her. He tried to roll away from her, but he was too slow and in too much pain to get anywhere. She caught his shoulder and forced him back to see her.

"I asked you a question," she said darkly leaning over his scrunched his, "I expect an answer."

Glaring the man hissed, "Fine... I was sent to get this."

"Who sent you," the Snow Queen asked.

The man stared up at the Snow Queen with a pained grin, "Consider this a gift from your old mentor."

The Snow Queen frowned at his words before she could process the what he had said. Suddenly the cold air around her was suffocating and it was hard for her to breathe.

"What," the Snow Queen gasped, "Koz sent you to get this? Why?"

The man sat up hesitantly, his brown eyes leveled the Snow Queen's gaze as he said, "He sent me to get it to you. He knew you and your friends would be tracking this item. After all, how long have you been looking for it? How long has it been out of your possession? Koz wanted to give it back to you."

"If he really wanted to send it to me, I'm sure UPS or FedEx would have done the job," the Snow Queen replied bitterly.

The man shrugged slightly and said to her, "He works in strange, twisted ways, but you already knew that. Didn't you?"

The Snow Queen had no reply.

"He's coming for you Snow Queen," the man told her, his tone sounded flat, but an underlining of a weariness.

Before the Snow Queen could respond, a cloud of smoke filled the alleyway, thick, heavy and blinding smoke. The Snow Queen grabbed the black box, clutching it tightly in her arms and pressed it to her chest and rushed out of the alleyway into the abandoned streets of Burgess.

* * *

"Come on man, you've been in a daze all morning," a brown haired boy said, "Surely you have some ideas about the mysterious Nightmare King."

A group of teenagers, Hiccup, Jackson, Zel, Astrid and Merida, were sitting at a round cafeteria table. It was a little after noon and marked the school day was half way over with for the students. The brown haired boy, who went by the name Hiccup, had been following the news on the criminal Pitch Black the Nightmare King. Despite the smaller size of Burgess, there was enough crime to match that of New York or Chicago, but it wasn't advertised.

The group had been talking about Pitch's whereabouts, who could he be and what would he do next. The cops had been trying to find this guy for years, but they never caught him. He always seemed to be ten steps ahead of police.

"I don't know Hic," said a teen close to Hiccup's age.

"You've been really quiet today Jackson," said Hiccup with slightly worried brown eyes.

The teenager, Jackson, looked up from his glass of water and replied, "Just had a lot on my mind I guess."

Jackson had been consumed by his thoughts and had been acting distant towards his friends since the letter he got last week. His dad was an army man, he had been deployed eighteen months ago and the letter Jackson and his family received was from his dad. Turns out his dad wouldn't be back for another six months. Jackson hadn't told his friends this, he didn't really want to share this new information.

"Are you doing okay," Zel, a girl with short brown hair and big green eyes, asked softly.

Jackson smiled at her, his brown and blue eyes shining, "I'm fine Zel. Besides I'm more interested in the Snow Queen. What your thoughts on her?"

"She's hot," Hiccup said and received a punch from his girlfriend, Astrid.

"You've never seen her face," Zel pointed out with a smirk.

Hiccup sighed as he rubbed his arm, "What I meant was she is hot because of all the bad ass stuff she does."

Astrid rolled her blue eyes, "Sure that's what you meant."

Zel added, "I don't think she's too bad. After all, she does a lot of good in the town."

"She's still an outlaw," Merida said running her fingers through her wild red curly hair.

"At least she's doing something about the crime in this city," Hiccup interjected, "It's gotten out of hand over the years."

The Snow Queen was the ultimate mystery of Burgess. Mostly because no one knew which side she was on. She had stopped plenty of criminals, but that didn't mean she was good, after all she had broken a handful of laws and avoided law enforcement at all costs. Despite her many good deeds, no one could be certain if she was criminal or vigilante trying to do good.

Jackson honestly never paid much attention to the news or the city and it's crime. His little sister, Emma, on the other hand only ever talked about such topics. Usually about how the Snow Queen was trying to save this city. Jackson could believe the Snow Queen was good after everything she had done for this city, but.. There were a number of things held against her.

After lunch, Jackson had two more class periods before he could leave and go home. The time seemed to drag on for the teen, but his school day did eventually end. Once the final bell rang, he left his last period, hands in his sweatshirt pocket and made it to his locker to grab his books. Several lockers away he saw someone he hadn't spoken to in a really long time. His locker number was 317 while hers was 308. Nine long, thin grey lockers were between them along with the tense air and words left unspoken.

Everyday since the beginning of freshman year, he would see her at her locker and she would see him. They were best friends in elementary school, then they were just friends for part of middle school until they stopped talking altogether. It had happened all of sudden to, without warning she just pushed him away and left. No matter what Jackson told himself, the wound still hurt, but he wasn't angry with her. He could never be angry with her for long.

Her platinum blonde hair was tied into a low ponytail, her flyaways hanging on the sides of her face blocking Jackson's view of her eyes. Those eyes that used to hold so much joy, love and happiness.

Jackson used to believe he was in love with her, but after she left… things changed. However deep down he knew he would never stop loving her, even if she stopped caring about him. She turned her head slightly to the side to look at Jackson, her cerulean blue eyes shimmering. In Jackson's mind, her eyes always seemed to shine like the stars in the sky or they would shine like the sunlight bouncing off the waves of ocean.

She wore a simple sky blue over shoulder shirt, white jeans and blue converse. Blue had always been her favorite color. For a moment, their blue eyes met. Years of questions and things left unsaid were sitting on Jackson's lips, but all he could manage was a smile. The smile she returned was gentle, the sweetest smile he had ever seen in all his years.

In a soft voice that chimed like bells in the wind, she said, "Hi Jack."

Jackson continued to smile at her, she was the only one other than his mom and sister who was allowed to call him Jack. Not even his best friend, Hiccup or anyone in his friend group could call him Jack. Whenever they did, he would tell them not to do it again. The sound of his old nickname coming from her lips was enough to break his heart.

Still he smiled her way, "Hi Elsa."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the follows and favorites.**

 **Reviews are nice, but no flames, you'll melt the ice.**

 **Summary:Jackson Overland, a fun and carefree teen with a bright smile. Elsa Arendelle, the mystery girl of the school with cerulean eyes. When Jackson ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time he learns the world is not at all what it seems. In the town of Burgess, there is more crime that meets the eye and his former best friend has a strong connection to the vigilante, Snow Queen.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Cerulean**

Jackson stared into Elsa's eyes, even though he saw pain and sorrow in them, he could still make out the spark she had. When he first met Elsa, he thought she was a quiet and reserved person. The description wasn't far off, but when he became her friend he found she had a goofy and fun side. She loved all kinds of games. Board games, video games, card games.

Jackson wondered if she still loved to play spades or war. If she could still win Monopoly and Clue with her eyes closed. If she still had the high score in Assassin's Creed or Halo. Jackson wanted to say something, he wanted to say anything to her, but no other words came to his mind. What could he possibly say? Should he make small talk? Should he talk like before?

Elsa looked away first. The tears she refused to shed burned her eyes. Everyday she wondered if she had made the right choice in letting her best friend, Jack, go. However at night, she always received the answer she didn't want to hear. Yes, she had made the right choice. No matter how much it hurt, she knew she made the right choice. They were close. The best of friends, family.

Jack was always there for her, whenever she was sad he would cheer her up with a game. Even after all these years. He was still there for her. Elsa closed her locker door and walked in the opposite direction of Jackson. It was for the best, she told herself repeatedly. A short time ago, even though it felt like a lifetime ago, Elsa had shut Jackson out completely. One day she just stopped talking to him, she stopped talking to a lot of people.

"Hey Elsa," she heard Jackson call from behind her, "Wait a second."

Elsa froze in her spot. What was he going to do? What was he going to say to her? Elsa turned around to face Jackson, his blue and brown eyes looking back at her. His right eye was honey brown and his left eye was ice blue. When he was born, both his eyes were brown, but as he grew older his left eye turned blue until not a trace of brown remained. The doctors couldn't explain why it happened, but chalked it up to heterochromia. Jack could live with it. Not many people had eyes like his.

"I really have to go," Elsa lied, avoiding Jackson's gaze on her.

He nodded, "Yeah I'll make this quick. You're good in all your classes and I was wondering if maybe you could help me out with French. I'm kind of failing that class and need to pull up my grade."

Elsa just stared at him for a moment. There were a number of people he could have asked for tutoring, but he asked her. She knew the reason, she had thought of doing the same thing to him so many times. What could be the harm in one study session?

"Well I-" Elsa started to say, but Jackson cut her off.

"I know we haven't really talked in awhile and I understand if you would rather not have to deal with me," Jackson told her.

Despite the smile he wore, Elsa could hear the sadness in his voice and see the hurt in his eyes. Elsa searched his eyes, trying to understand what he wanted. After all these years of not speaking now he comes to her. Elsa knew it was about something else because that was how Jack worked. He was an honest person, but he was never blunt or forward unless he was upset in some way. Elsa tried to find some excuse, a lie to get her out of this. Lying was easier than truth. But she couldn't lie to him, she couldn't tell him no. Even after all these years, she couldn't turn him down.

"When," Elsa said, even though she knew she would regret it, "Do you want to study?"

Jackson's eyes widened in surprise as he stuttered a response, "O-Oh well umm. Ahem, whenever works for you."

"Does this afternoon work," Elsa suggested, wanting to get the session out of the way.

Jackson blinked before he responded, "But don't you have somewhere to get to?"

"Until five," Elsa stated, "After that I'm free, meet at the Palace?"

The Palace was a cafe in town, it was one of the best coffee house's to ever exists. It was also the place Jack and Elsa used to go to all the time when they were friends. Elsa was feeling a little nostalgic and thought it would be nice to go back there with an old friend.

"Deal," Jackson said unable to hide his excitement, "I'll see you later."

Jackson took off, a grin on his face and joy in his eyes. Elsa watched him go and sighed. What was she thinking?

Jackson went home after that. He could not believe it had been that easy to see Elsa again. All he did was ask for a tutoring session and she had actually agreed to go with him. There were no words to describe how happy Jackson was. When he got home, he found his little sister in the dining room with homework out. The elementary school got out at 2:30, middle school 3:15 and high school was out between 3:30-4:00. Jackson got out before most high schoolers since he didn't have a last period class.

"Hey Jack," Emma said looking at her brother.

Jackson smiled at her, "Hey Flee. Mom home yet?"

Emma shook her head, "No. She won't get home until later, why?"

Jackson shrugged, "I have a tutoring session at five. I needed to know if I had to find a babysitter and it looks like I do."

Emma frowned, her brown eyes narrowing, "I don't need a babysitter."

"What's mom's rule," Jackson asked, his hands in his pocket.

Emma groaned, "You have to be a teenager to be home alone."

"Exactly," Jackson said with a grin, "You still have four years to go."

"Three," Emma corrected.

Jackson nodded still smiling, "That's right. Someone's tenth birthday is coming up. Double digits."

Emma grinned, "I'm so excited."

"Me too," Jackson told his sister, "Now you keep doing your homework while I make a phone call."

Jackson left his little sister to do her work and called a friend to come and watch his little sister. Once that was taken care of, Jackson did what he usually did on a Tuesday afternoon with no plans until later. Goof off and not do any of his homework until the last possible minute.

* * *

"Elsa that's great," Anna said, a red haired girl with bright emerald eyes.

Elsa looked at her little sister, sadness in her cerulean eyes. It wasn't that she was unhappy to speak to Jack again. When he was looking at her today, she couldn't help but talk to him. She had noticed a change in him since last week and had often wondered what was wrong. Too many times she thought about going to him and asking if everything was okay. She never did of course. It was for the best that she never speak to him again. Today should not have been any different. Yet it was and now she was going to see him again, really soon.

"No," Elsa said shaking her head, "I should have said no."

Anna frowned, "Elsa. It's just a tutoring session, besides I think this will be good for you and good for Jack."

"I have too much going on to be worrying about this," Elsa said abruptly.

She stood from her spot on the bed next to Anna and walked to the door. There was something she needed to do before she met with Jack. The very thought sent shivers down her spine and her stomach began to twist. Without another word, Elsa left her little sister alone and went to take care of something before the clock struck five.

* * *

Jackson left his house at 4:45 so he could get to the Palace right on time. Since he didn't live far, he was able to walk to the cafe instead of catching a ride. His sister was staying with a friend for the next two hours while Jackson went to see Elsa. His best friend. Even after all these years, he never stopped seeing her as anything, but the best friend he loved.

Walking down the sidewalk, hands in his sweatshirt pocket and pale brown hair blowing in the wind, he looked to the sky. It was a beautiful day, it was partly cloudy with the sun peeking from the clouds every few minutes. _I'd take overcast over a bright sunny day._ Jackson smiled at the memory. Elsa loved overcast days. He never asked her why she liked them so much, it didn't really matter. So long as she was happy, so was he.

Jackson rounded a corner and stopped in front an alleyway when he saw something he hadn't expected to see. Two figures, one dressed in all black clothing, the other in all blue and a hood over their head were in the alley. The one in black was pinned against the wall by the one in blue. Jackson quickly hid behind one of the dumpsters so they wouldn't see him.

"Where can I find him," he heard a feminine voice ask.

A deeper voice responded, "He lives in the shadows. You won't find him unless he wants to be found. If anything he'll come for you."

Jackson peeked from behind the dumpster, craning to get a look at the two figures. However someone grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him onto his feet.

"Hey," Jackson cried as he struggled against the man's grip.

A large man shoved him forward and onto the ground. The two figures from before looked back at the fallen teen. A man and a woman. Jackson pushed himself off the ground, but the large man knocked him down again. One foot on his back, the large man stood before the blue and black covered figures.

"What do we have here," asked the figure in black, "An eavesdropper?"

The large man lifted Jackson off the ground as if he weighed nothing. Jackson stood before the figure in black and the one in blue.

The man in black clothing smiled twistedly at the woman in blue, "You have a soft spot of civilians I hear Snow Queen. Let me go, or he gets it."

 _Snow Queen._ Jackson knew the name. Was this person in blue the real Snow Queen he had seen on the news? The Snow Queen sighed, she released the man in all black from her grip and took a step back. Rubbing his wrists, the man in all black sent her a smile and a glare. The Snow Queen kept her head low, but she titled her head up slightly. Jackson caught a glimpse of her face.

She was wearing an eye mask that was a deep shade of blue, but he still saw her eyes. A beautiful shade of blue. They looked so familiar to Jackson, where has he seen them before? Jackson wasn't sure, but in a flash the Snow Queen attacked the man closest to her. A kick to the stomach. He hunched over in pain and she knocked him onto the ground.

The large man holding Jackson moved to grab her, she pulled out a dagger and sliced the man's cheek. Distracted by the pain, the man looked away from the Snow Queen giving her an opening to pounce. Jackson backed away, surprise and shock all across his face as he watched the Snow Queen take down the two men. His eyes focused on the woman, she was quick and steady on her feet. The men might have been stronger than she was, but she was definitely the fastest of the bunch.

Once both men were on the ground, groaning from the pain and unable to attack again, the Snow Queen turned to Jackson. Her blue hood covered her forehead only showing her mask covered face, cheeks and mouth. Her cerulean blue eyes stared into Jackson's, sharp and hard as ice. The first word to come to Jackson's mind as he looked at her was beautiful. Even though he couldn't make out all of her features, her eyes were striking, her pale skin smooth and glowing.

"Thank y-you," Jackson stuttered, "That was a- ahem, that was amazing."

The Snow Queen nodded to him, "You better get going."

Jackson wanted to keep talking to her, but the edge in her voice and look in her eyes caused him to reconsider. Instead of arguing, he left the alley without another word. The Snow Queen watched him go with a soft look before returning her attention to the two men.

"Nice try nightmares," the Snow Queen hissed at them with an amused smile, "But if Koz wants to send a message, tell him he has to do it himself. As for how to find him, you gave me all the information I need."

Without another word, the Snow Queen jumped on the nearby dumpster and climbed, using the pipe on the side, to the roof. Once she was there, she took off.

* * *

Jackson had been reluctant to leave, but he figured it was for the best that he leave the Snow Queen be and go meet Elsa.

The Snow Queen. He saw her in person. He saw her eyes, the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in all his life stared at him. There was something about the Snow Queen that Jackson found intriguing and familiar, but it was something he couldn't quite explain. After this he wanted to know anything and everything about this Snow Queen, who she was and where she came from were the only things on his mind at the moment.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he pictured her in his mind and the sound of her voice ringing in his ears. All too soon, his thoughts were interrupted when he arrived at the Palace Cafe. He walked inside, his thoughts still plagued by the mysterious Snow Queen as he scanned the diner for his study partner and old best friend. His eyes landed on her platinum blonde hair first, it was still in a messy ponytail that hung loosely over her shoulder.

It was messier than it was a few hours ago, but Jackson didn't pay much attention to that small detail. Instead he walked forward, all previous thoughts of the Snow Queen vanished from his mind as he slid into the booth across from Elsa. Her french book and notes were on the side when Jackson arrived beside her.

Sipping her hot chocolate, Elsa said with a small smile, "Good to know you still show up late."

"What," Jackson gasped, he looked down at his watch to see it was 5:10, "Oh yeah. Well you know me."

Elsa nodded and mumbled softly, "Qui, Jack."

* * *

 **French: Qui=I do.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you enjoy!**

 **Summary:Jackson Overland, a fun and carefree teen with a bright smile. Elsa Arendelle, the mystery girl of the school with cerulean eyes. When Jackson ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time he learns the world is not at all what it seems. In the town of Burgess, there is more crime that meets the eye and his former best friend has a strong connection to the vigilante, Snow Queen.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: No Goodbyes**

"He's traveling on the east side," Night Fury said through the comms, "Ryder is on his tail."

The Snow Queen nodded, "Make sure you don't lose them."

Ryder's voice filled their ears, "I'm headed your way Snow. You got our surprise ready?"

The Snow Queen smirked, her blue eyes shimmered with mischief, "I'm sorry, have we just met?"

Ryder's reply was a laughter before he cut off. The Snow Queen was crouched low, looking down at the mostly empty road below. There were few cars out because of the time which meant fewer people would see the heist or be affected by it. Earlier in the evening, the Snow Queen had made a spectacle by stopping a bank robbery. It had been broadcast all over the news, this wasn't unexpected though considering she was used to this. However she hoped that tonight no one would see her.

This was just another weekday assignment for the Snow Queen and her colleagues. In order to make sure that everyone at the manor had enough food, clothes and other necessities, the Snow Queen would enlist the help of Flynn Ryder. He was a well known thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, specifically orphanages and foster homes. One day, he had come to her foster home giving her the plush snowman that she had kept her eyes on.

She remembered how excited she had been to have the toy, her little sister had been wanting to get it and now she would. The Snow Queen smiled weakly at the memory before returning to the present. Initially Ryder had been compared to Robin Hood because of the things he did. However the moment he had the chance to change that, he announced to the city that he was Flynn Ryder.

"They're nearing your position Snow Queen," Night Fury said.

The Snow Queen looked to her left where she spotted the red truck and Ryder's not far behind on his motorcycle. If this was going to work, the Snow Queen had to make sure she timed her jump perfectly so she could land on the trailer. Counting off in her head, she waited until she reached one. The Snow Queen jumped off the four story building, she did a flip in the air which helped to ease her landing. She landed in a side lunge position without making a sound. A smile graced her features, but was quickly replaced by a hard line. Quickly, she pulled out a silver disk from her blue belt and pressed it on the white top.

"It's in place," the Snow Queen said.

Night Fury spoke, "Alright stand back. Ryder, are you ready?"

"You know it," came Ryder's reply.

The Snow Queen looked to her right to see Ryder pass the truck, narrowly cutting in front of them. The truck braked for a moment before returning to it's original speed.

"Okay, hit the center," Night Fury instructed.

The Snow Queen pressed the glowing red dot in the of the silver disc. After a second, it changed to green meaning Night Fury was in.

"Ryder, you know the way," Snow Queen said, "Night Fury is locked on."

"Great, this is going to be fun," Ryder replied, an underlining of excitement in his voice.

Night Fury was the tech genius, who didn't come out into the open with the Snow Queen or any other allies often. It was his job to hack into camera feed, monitor the missions, make sure everything was running smoothly for them. It was also his job to create new devices that would aid the Snow Queen on her missions. His latest invention, the silver disc, would give him control over whatever machine it was connect to, even a vehicle. However he was still working out some issues, so the control of the vehicle would lock onto what was in front of it.

In this case, Ryder was in control of the truck. It would follow him to a location where the Snow Queen and himself could get to work. The Snow Queen moved on top of the trailer until she could see the actual truck. Carefully, she slid off the trailer and onto the top of the truck. Now she had to deal with the driver before they realized what was happening. She moved to the driver's side, in swift motion she slammed her elbow into the window, shattering it on contact.

"What the-" the man cried, but didn't finish.

He was cut off by Ryder who made a sharp turn right, the Snow Queen moved slightly, but held firm onto the roof of the truck. She briefly glared at motorcyclist up ahead.

As if sensing her irritation, Ryder said through the comm, "My bad."

The Snow Queen rolled her eyes, but said nothing in response. She grabbed her blue dart from her belt and leaned over further to come face to face with the driver. He stared at her in shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but the Snow Queen had already push the dart into his shoulder. A concentrated sleeping solution. It was harmless and would wear off after an hour.

Once the man was asleep, the Snow Queen adjusted herself onto the roof of the car. After several minutes, Ryder brought the truck to a construction site, all the workers had already left for the day. Now they had stopped, Ryder and the Snow Queen could get to work. The Snow Queen jumped off the truck and was greeted by Ryder, his helmet off revealing his face.

He wasn't hard on the eyes. Even though his brown eyes were narrowed most of the time, he had a carelessness about him that distracted people from the gaze. Not to mention is soft chestnut hair, that fell onto his ears, added to the nonchalant attitude he had. Flynn Ryder was an adrenaline junky who cared little for what happened around. His counter part, although still carefree, had a more serious and sometimes compassionate way of doing things.

Ryder looked the Snow Queen, "We did okay out there. No one saw us and no one was hurt. I say it was a good run."

"Your Eugene is showing," Snow Queen teased.

Ryder rolled his brown eyes, "Very funny. Let's move."

"The packages are inside, along with two people," Night Fury said.

Ryder raised an eyebrow, "Is there supposed to be anyone in there?"

The Snow Queen smiled faintly, "Yes, there is."

Ryder unlocked the back of the trailer while the Snow Queen watched. Once the door was open, they were greeted by two people surrounded by a number of packages and crates. The packages were for the Snow Queen, the crates belonged to the driver passed out up front.

"Snow Queen, it's so good to see you," a large man wearing red said happily.

"Hi North, Bunnymund," the Snow Queen greeted, "Thank you for securing the packages."

The large man, North, smiled, "It was our pleasure. Right Bunny?"

North was an older man with mostly bald head and white hair on his sides, as well as a Santa Claus beard. His arms were covered in tattoos, one side showed the people on his good side or _Nice List_. On the other arm was for those on his bad side, _Naughty List_. Beside him was a younger man in his thirties with dyed pale blue hair and clear eyes.

Bunny replied with a shrug, "It wasn't much trouble, but we still got a job to do. I know ya need help Snow, but with Pitch gettin' bolder-"

"Don't worry, I understand," Snow Queen interrupted, "Thank you for your help tonight."

Bunny nodded to her, but said nothing else in reply. The four of them worked in silence, getting all the brown packages out of the trailer and onto the road. The Snow Queen's ride would could come to get the packages and bring them to the manor where she lived.

"Is that all of them," Ryder asked as North closed the trailer.

In his Russian accent, North replied, "Yes and don't worry. I checked, twice."

Ryder nodded, then faced the Snow Queen, "What do we do about the truck? Leave it here?"

"North will handle that, for now we wait," came the Snow Queen's reply.

Ryder didn't reply, he only stared off into the distance.

* * *

Jackson hadn't been able to think of anything or anyone other than Elsa. It was the middle of the morning, second period was almost over and he would head back to homeroom before having to go to third period. Staring at his notebook, he focused on the name he had written on the side in the center of a snowflake design.

 _No snowflake is exactly the same, like people. Or maybe it's the other way around. No person is exactly the same, like snowflakes._

The bell rang, pulling Jackson from his thoughts of someone he cared for. With a sigh, he slipped the notebook into his brown backpack and left the classroom to find his homeroom. Even though it ached, he was excited to see someone in homeroom. Yesterday afternoon had been amazing, he had gotten to talk with an old friend and despite all the hidden pain, it felt like nothing had changed.

How they could fall into conversation as if they had never stopped speaking. For some reason, that hurt Jackson more than if they wouldn't have been able to talk. Deep down, she was still his best friend.

Jackson entered the classroom and scanned the group of teens looking for one face. He spotted Hiccup and Zel in their usual seats by the windows. Zel waved to him, signaling him to come over, but he didn't move. Instead he continued to look around the room until he saw who he was looking for hiding in the back of the class, in the desk further away from the others. The bell rang a second time followed by the principal giving announcements.

Jackson didn't pay any attention to them, he walked over to the back of the class and took a seat beside Elsa. The teenage girl didn't glance his way, or acknowledge that Jackson was next to her. Jackson studied Elsa for a moment, wondering what she could be thinking about and if he should say anything. Even though the other day had been great, he wasn't sure how she would feel about it.

Honestly, he was hoping and praying that they could start their friendship again. Was that too much to ask? Jackson was about to say something, but stopped short when he noticed the bruise under her right eye. It was camouflaged by makeup, but Jackson could see it.

"What happened," he asked.

Elsa snapped her head to look at him, surprise in her eyes. Whether she was surprised to see him or that he noticed the bruiser, was a mystery to Jackson.

"What," Elsa asked, her brow slightly furrowed.

Jackson answered, "Your eye. The bruise you're trying to hide, what happened?"

"Does it matter," Elsa replied returning her focus to the front of the class.

Jackson wanted to say that it did matter, but he kept his mouth closed. He could vaguely remember how Elsa used to come to school with bruises, it wasn't until the end of middle school that he realized she was being abused. Was she being abused now?

"Why are you here Jackson," Elsa asked sharply.

Jackson frowned at the sound of his real name coming from her. When he didn't reply, Elsa turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"If you want another tutoring session, that's fine-" Elsa started, but was interrupted.

"No," Jackson said, "I'm not here about a tutoring session. I want to talk to you."

Elsa released a breath, but didn't say anything. Jackson was about to say something else, but Elsa stood abruptly from her seat and walked to the door. The moment she placed her hand on the silver handle, the bell rang and just like that, she was gone. Jackson shook his head in frustration. Why did she push him away? Why did she continue to shut him out? What had he done for her to hate him?

"Jackson," Hiccup said, "What was that about?"

Hiccup knew about Jackson's history with Elsa, he had been friends with her before to. Not as close as Jackson was, but still good friends. He knew how much it hurt Jackson when Elsa started pushing everyone away.

Jackson sighed dejectedly, "Nothing. Let's just get to class."

Hiccup and Zel exchanged a worried glance, but decided not to press their friend any further.

* * *

After School

* * *

Elsa stood outside the elementary school, her arms folded over her chest as she continued to wait for the kids to be dismissed. On most days she wouldn't have come, but considering how she had been feeling lately, she had to come. Dealing with her former best friend left her feeling hollow while the recent argument she had with her sister didn't help her mood.

It especially didn't help when unwanted ears heard the argument. Elsa checked her wristwatch, the students would be out any minute now which filled her with a little excitement and plenty of anxiety.

"Elsa," greeted a voice she did not want to hear.

Suddenly the teen remembered one of the reasons why she didn't pick up her younger brother often. It was to avoid certain faces and not hear other voices. However the one face and voice that had been haunting for the last two days was here.

"Jackson," Elsa said, not looking at him.

Jackson was unfazed by her tone and went on, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Neither was I," Elsa replied, an edge in her voice, "Not that it matters. It seems to me that wherever I turn, there you are."

Jackson licked his lips before replying, "I have a reason for that."

"I don't want to hear it, it's all in the past, let's leave it there," Elsa said in a harsh tone.

"I can't leave it there," Jackson said in a hurt tone.

Elsa shrugged, "That's your problem, not mine."

"Elsa, talk to me," Jackson pleaded.

He stepped around so he could face Elsa, his eyes filled with longing. Elsa hated to be this cold with him, but it was the only way to him from her and everything that was going on her life. It had worked for years, she wasn't about to lose all of that just because he wanted to push her now. Now she sincerely regretted agreeing to see him the other day.

"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea," Elsa told him, "But what happened was two classmates studying. Nothing more and nothing less. Let it go Jackson."

Jackson would have been lying if he said that Elsa using his birth name didn't hurt. He had never been Jackson to her, he was always Jack. However he pushed those feelings aside and focused on the conversation at hand.

"I don't want to," Jackson replied honestly.

Elsa brushed a loose strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, "It doesn't matter anymore. Just stop."

"You can push me away all you like," Jackson said sadly, "I won't leave you, not this time."

"What if I don't want you to stay," Elsa asked fighting to keep her voice even.

A smirk formed on Jackson's face, "Well that's unfortunate because I'm here."

Elsa resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Go away Jackson."

"I can't, my sister's here," Jackson replied in a teasing tone.

Elsa kept her mouth closed in a firm line. Their conversation had changed, the air surrounding them was still tense, but somehow Jackson had loosened the pressure. Perhaps it was is constant need to lighten the mood and make remarks every other sentence. Jack had always been one to tease and make people smile, it was the reason Elsa liked him so much. He made her smile. The front doors of the school finally opened allowing a rush of small children to run out.

"Elsa," cried a voice filled with excitement and surprise.

Elsa had a moment before she felt someone slam into her, followed by small arms wrapping around her waist and a face buried in her stomach. A warm smile spread across Elsa's face when she looked down to see a little boy with white hair. When Olaf was born, he had brown hair like their mother. However by the time he was five, all of his dark hair had turned white due to a lack of melanin in his hair.

"Hi Olaf," Elsa said grinning.

Olaf looked up at Elsa with shining blue eyes, "I didn't know you were coming today."

"I thought I'd surprise you," Elsa replied sweetly.

Olaf said happily, "Well, you did. I'm surprised, but it was a good kind of surprise. Like a surprise party!"

Elsa chuckled softly, the noise was like music to Jackson's ears. He had watched the scene unfold silently, a gentle smile on his face as he saw Elsa's cold exterior melt around the ten year old. It made Jackson happy to know that there was some joy and happiness in Elsa's life. Olaf noticed Jackson standing on the side.

"Is that your boyfriend," Olaf whispered loudly.

Elsa's cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, "No Olaf. I don't have a boyfriend."

Olaf frowned, "Is he a just-friend?"

Elsa took a glance at Jackson, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Jackson held his breath. Would she deny that they were friends? Would she say they were friends?

"Something like that," Elsa decided to say looking back at Olaf, "Come, we need to get Anna from chorus."

Olaf looked at Jackson, "Any just-friend of Elsa's is a just-friend of mine." The little boy opened his arms, "Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs."

Jackson glanced at Elsa, silently asking if it would be okay to hug her little brother. Elsa, getting the message, gave a slight nod. The teenaged boy bent down and returned the hug of the excited ten year old.

"It's nice to meet you Olaf," Jackson said releasing the boy, "I'm Jack."

"Hi Jack," Olaf said grinning, "We have to go now, so bye Jack."

"Bye Olaf," Jackson said smiling.

Jack stood up, he looked at Elsa who was studying him. Elsa took Olaf's hand and started to walk away with her brother, but stopped short. Olaf had stopped walking to look up at Elsa curiously.

Olaf whispered loudly, "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"

Elsa looked back at Jackson with a sorrowful gaze, "We don't say goodbye."

 _I won't say goodbye to you Jack, but I have to go._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, so here's two chapters.**

 **Summary:Jackson Overland, a fun and carefree teen with a bright smile. Elsa Arendelle, the mystery girl of the school with cerulean eyes. When Jackson ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time he learns the world is not at all what it seems. In the town of Burgess, there is more crime that meets the eye and his former best friend has a strong connection to the vigilante, Snow Queen.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Elsa used to be afraid of the dark, the very thought of being without light used to be her biggest fear. However as she got older, the darkness had become one of the few places where she wasn't afraid. In the dark, no one could see her. In the light, it made hiding difficult.

 _No, you can't leave me in here._

 _Why not, afraid of the dark? Until you learn not to fear it, you will stay here._

Elsa shuddered at the memory, the horror she had felt while being locked in that room for several hours. It had been so dark, pitch black even, that she hadn't been able to see her hands when they were right in front of her face. Elsa sighed, she pushed the covers off herself exposing her bare legs to the cold. Unlike most people, the cold brought a feeling of comfort to Elsa whereas heat left her feeling sluggish and uncomfortable.

Silently, Elsa left her room and journeyed downstairs until she found the kitchen on the first floor of the manor. The manor was large at best and a maze at worst. Elsa walked into the dimly lit kitchen to see her sister sitting at the little island, a red mug in her hands. Anna lifted her gaze to look up at her sister, a distant and sorrowful look in her emerald eyes. The expression looked out of place on Anna's face, especially since her eyes usually held so much light and joy in them.

"Nightmares," Elsa asked gently approaching her sister.

Anna shrugged, with a tired smile she said, "Nothing to serious. It was one of those dreams where you know it's not real, where nothing makes sense, but… you're still afraid."

Elsa could understand that. Most nights she either didn't sleep or she would be haunted by her demons of the past.

"You want to talk about it," Elsa asked in a concerned tone.

Anna shook her head, "No. I'd rather not. Anyway, how are you doing? I see you still have a shiner."

Elsa absently brought her fingers up to her eyes and gingerly touched the bruise. It still ached, but the house doctor, Tadashi, informed her that it would be gone in a few days. Elsa had been hurt worse than a bruise before definitely, but what bothered her about this was that hiding it was a challenge. Even though her makeup had hidden it, someone had spotted it.

"It should be gone in another day or two," Elsa replied taking a seat across from Anna.

Anna smiled, "Well that's good. Not that you look bad with the bruise, I mean you don't look great with it either. Wait, what?"

Elsa breathed a chuckle, "I understand."

"Okay good," Anna replied sheepishly, "How come you're up so late?"

"I'm not tired," Elsa answered flatly.

Anna knew her sister was lying. It was obvious to almost anyone who looked at Elsa that she was in fact exhausted, worn out and fatigued. There was so much Elsa to do, but she refused to accept help from anyone unless absolutely necessary.

"Elsa, you are exhausted," Anna stated, her eyes filled with worry.

Elsa didn't meet her sister's gaze, "I said I wasn't tired. I never said I wasn't exhausted, but it doesn't matter. I have stuff to do."

"Such as," Anna prompted.

Elsa narrowed her eyes slightly at her sister, "Just some stuff that I need to take care of."

"You want some help," Anna offered, "Since we're both up, we might get more stuff done."

Elsa shook her head, "No, I can handle it."

"That doesn't mean you have to do it alone," Anna replied sadly.

"I won't argue with you about this again," Elsa said shortly, "I'll see you in the morning."

"It is morning," Anna said cheekily.

Elsa rolled her eyes, "Then I'll see you later this morning. Go get some sleep."

"Now who's being a hypocrite," Anna remarked sipping at her hot chocolate.

Elsa narrowed her eyes, but made no verbal reply. Instead the older teen stood up from her seat and left her sister alone. Once Elsa was gone, Anna sighed defeated. For years Elsa had been pushing her and everyone else away because she didn't want to let anyone in. She didn't want anyone's help, Elsa thought she didn't deserve to have anyone's help.

Anna had always tried to be there for Elsa, even when her sister shut her out, but sometimes it was incredibly difficult. Sometimes it was impossible to help someone who didn't want the help being offered. That didn't mean Anna didn't try. She always did and always would help her sister. Anna couldn't blame Elsa for acting this way though.

After all, it wasn't her fault. It was all on _him_.

Anna felt a pulse of anger rush through her at the thought of the man who destroyed her sister. When their parents died, Elsa had taken their death the hardest, but she never let it show. She had been her usual self with Anna and Olaf, showing them that everything was going to be okay. It had been Elsa who protected them, who cheered them up when they were side, who was by their side every step of the way.

Even though Elsa struggled, she never let Anna or Olaf see it. In fact, it wasn't until fifth grade that Elsa had changed. Anna clenched her hands into fists, she remembered watching as her sister's light completely faded away. Anna promised herself that she would not only get her sister to come back, but get revenge on the man who took everything from her.

* * *

Jackson watched from his spot, leaning against the school fence with his arms folded over his chest with a gentle look in his eyes. Hiccup was talking with Astrid beside him, but he wasn't listening to them. His focus was on the girl across the yard, sitting against the brick wall of the school with her head back and eyes closed. It had been three days since Jackson last spoke to her and he had yet to talk to her again.

There was nothing he wanted to do more than speak with her, but he always stopped himself. A person could only be rejected so many times. Jackson would approach her again, he just wasn't sure when or how. All he wanted was to talk to her, to really talk her again and maybe find the answers he so desperately needed.

"Astrid, can you give us a minute," Hiccup said softly.

Astrid glanced at Jackson with a soft gaze before nodding. There was something going on with Jackson, it was obvious by the look in his eyes and his stance. Whatever was going on with him had quite the effect. Hiccup knew him better than anyone, he knew exactly why his friend was acting so distant and somber. Whenever topics of the past were brought Jackson's attention, he would go into a isolating state.

He wouldn't necessarily cut people off or push anyone away, but he would definitely be less likely to interact with others. Once Astrid was gone, Hiccup turned to his friend.

"Okay Jackson, what's going on with you," Hiccup asked leaning against the fence, "You've been quiet and lost in space for days."

Jackson shrugged, his eyes forward, "I just have some stuff on my mind."

Hiccup followed his gaze to see Elsa sitting by the school. The incident a few days ago came to the front of Hiccup's mind. It always came back to Elsa, even though she used to be a root of his joy, she was now a root of his sorrow.

"Why is Elsa on your mind all of a sudden," Hiccup asked bluntly, arms folded over his chest.

"It isn't all of a sudden," Jackson replied bitterly.

Hiccup frowned, "It's been going on for awhile then."

Jackson didn't reply right away, "What are you asking Hiccup?"

"I just noticed you've been sulking these past few days," Hiccup said softly, "You spoke with her, what happened?"

Jackson replied in low tone, "Nothing."

"Are you sure about that," Hiccup questioned, a challenging look in his eyes.

Jackson didn't say anything in reply. He shoved his hands into his blue sweatshirt pocket and walked away from his friend annoyed. Hiccup watched Jackson walk away with a frown. He looked to the side, his eyes landed on Elsa who was watching him with the same worried look.

 _I don't see why you won't at least let me tell him._

 _You want to put him in the crossfire? Fine, but keep me out of it._

 _Elsa, I don't think he would get caught._

 _You can never be too careful, too many people are already at risk. I can't add anymore to it._

Hiccup sighed, he adjusted his backpack on his shoulder started to walk to class. Elsa watched him go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

After school Elsa was waiting outside the school at the front of the building with her books in hand and backpack by her feet. Even though she didn't need to take the bus home, she could have walked, but she wasn't in the mood to wander around the city until she made it home. It had been a few days since Elsa had met Jackson at the Palace and there less than pleasant conversation.

Elsa didn't want to admit it, but she had a really good time talking to Jackson again at their old hang out, it was as if nothing had changed. The way they could dive into a conversation and talk as though they had never stopped speaking made Elsa feel happy again. Of course when their session was over, the pain Elsa felt from having to tell him goodbye rushed back to her, making her chest ache and eyes burn.

It was for the best.

That was what she told herself whenever she doubted her decision to cut Jackson off, even when she wasn't sure she believed it. For the past few days she avoided Jackson completely, she wouldn't even stop at her locker because she was too ashamed to see him. When the bus arrived, Elsa was pulled away from her thoughts on Jackson and climbed aboard.

Elsa took her seat, plugged her headphones in and stared out the window watching as the city passed by.

 _You could hold the city in the palm of your hand. The people would fear us._

Elsa closed her eyes as his voice whispered in her ears. Pressing her head against the cold window, she tried to focus on the song lyrics, but to know avail. No matter what she did, she would never be able to escape him.

* * *

Jackson went home to find Emma in the living room sitting with their mother. Because Emma's birthday was coming up, their mother had decided to give her the day off. That was one of the best things about Jackson's mom, she was okay with her kids missing a day of school if they needed it or if she wanted them to. Not many parents would be okay with that, but Mrs Overland was. Jackson would have stayed home with them, but he wanted to see Elsa again.

He needed to see her again. Like at the end of every day, he saw her at her locker, but that wasn't enough anymore.

"Hey Jack," greeted his mother with a smile, "How was school?"

Jackson smiled at her, "Like any other day. We still going out to dinner tonight in celebration of a certain someone turning ten?"

Emma smiled at her brother and nodded excitedly, "Uh huh. Mom said we could go to the new restaurant across the street from the Palace."

"Oh yeah," Jackson said grinning, "Well that certainly sounds like a great night out."

Mrs Overland opened her mouth to speak, when the telephone rang from the kitchen. A wave of dread and fear went through the air as the Overland family looked towards the kitchen. Nothing good ever came when that telephone rang. It was strictly work for Mrs Overland or news on their father. Mrs Overland walked into the kitchen and on the fourth ring, answered the phone.

Jackson and Emma strained to listen to their mother talk on the phone, wondering who was behind the phone call, but could only make out bits and pieces of the conversation. From what they could gather, it sounded like their mother was going to be heading back to work. Their assumptions had been correct when their mother returned to the living room with her usual apology face.

"You're leaving," Emma said sadly, her brown eyes glazed over.

Her mother nodded, "I'm sorry Emma, but I have to go in. I promise I'll make it up to you, we will do something really special on your birthday and we can do whatever you want."

"I want you and dad to be home all the time," Emma said sharply, "But that can't happen can it because there's always something more important than me and Jack."

Before her mother could reply, the young girl ran out of the living room. Her footsteps echoed throughout the now quiet house. Jackson looked at his mother with sadness and understanding. Out of all of them, Emma was struggling to keep herself together when it felt like everything else was falling apart. Mrs Overland was really trying to be there for kids, but it was hard.

Although she technically wasn't a single mother, she was still one. Her husband was away overseas and she had to take care of two kids. Even though Jackson was a junior in high school, he was close with his mom. Emma had always been a daddy's girl and it was hard on her whenever her father was away. When her mom wasn't around, it only seemed to make things worse.

"I'll get Emma," Jackson told his mom and made a move to leave.

His mother stopped him, "No, let me. I need to talk to her."

Jackson nodded in reply and watched as his mother went in the direction his sister had gone moments before. Jackson ran his fingers through his brown hair, he would find a way cheer up his sister tonight. A night in the town would be fun, eat dinner and go bowling or something. Jackson nodded at the idea.

* * *

"Well, what do you have for me," the Snow Queen asked not trying to hide her annoyance.

Before her, mostly hidden by the shadows, stood a young man with turquoise eyes. At first the Snow Queen had believed they were colored contacts, but after close inspection she realized they were his actual eye color. He was around her age, about two maybe three years older than her, but he was shorter than she was by two inches.

He wore a mauve long coat that was styled after the eighteen hundreds with a white lace shirt, black shoes and purple and turquoise striped pants. The young man looked at the Snow Queen with a grin from ear to ear, almost literally. The corners of his mouth were practically an inch shy of reaching his ears whenever he smiled like that.

"Sooo eager to get to the point," the young man, exaggerating to "T" sound in point, "Why in such a hurry? Too much time with Rabbit?"

"Cut it out, I'm in no mood for your games," the Snow Queen said in a harsh tone.

The young man sighed, "As you wish. My source tells me that Pitch plans to move his home base here to Burgess. Most likely in the abandoned factory by the docks."

"And you are certain your source is accurate," the Snow Queen questioned, her blue eyes filling with doubt.

"You wouldn't have come to me if you didn't trust my information," the young man pointed out, "Nonetheless, it's accurate."

The Snow Queen nodded, "Thank you Cheshire."

The young man gave her his classic Cheshire cat smile before walking back and sinking into the shadows.

The Snow Queen took a deep breath. Pitch was coming for her no doubt, especially if he planned to put his base so close to where she lived. For the last few months, Pitch or really the Nightmare King had been jumping from city to city. His crimes were most known in Burgess, but no one knew, except the Snow Queen, that he hadn't been in the city for the most part.

A figure head had been standing in his place when necessary. Now he was coming back for Burgess. The Snow Queen knew she had to stop him and his nightmares or else they would take control of this city. It was her job to protect the innocent people of this city and to bring all the guilty to justice. The young woman pulled her blue hood over head, covering her silver hair and hiding her masked face.

"Come on Emma," she heard someone say from around the corner, "I know you were upset earlier, but we can still have fun."

The Snow Queen stepped back into the shadows, hoping to stay out of sight. A young man, a teenager walked on the sidewalk with his arm around girl who was barely ten years. The man was Jackson and the girl was his sister Emma. After Jackson's mom left, he decided he would try to cheer Emma up. It had taken a good two hours to get her to come out of her room, but she did come out eventually.

It was now Jackson's goal to give her a fun evening and make her happy in anyway he could. Emma stopped in her tracks, her head hung low. The Snow Queen knew she could have run off without being noticed, but she wanted to stay here. The little girl she knew was Emma, reminded her of her younger sister. Jackson got down on one knee and placed one hand on her shoulder. It killed him to see his little sister so upset. He wished she could be happy all the time.

"Hey," Jackson said getting her attention.

Emma lifted her head to look at him, her brown eyes brimming with tears. The sight broke Jackson's heart.

"I know things have been hard on you lately," Jackson told her, "But do you remember what I told you, the day after dad left?"

Emma nodded in reply, "Yeah. You said we should play a game."

"Dad loves games," Jackson replied with a smile, "So let's play a game. Climb on my back, we can take a journey through the jungle or the arctic or whatever you like."

Emma gave her brother a weak smile. Jackson would always play this game with Emma, where he would pretend to be some animal while he carried her through an imaginary place. He would be anything from a rhino to dolphin in space or at the bottom of the sea. It didn't matter as long as he made his sister smile.

Jackson was about to turn around, when he noticed three dark figures headed in his direction. Whenever Jackson was out with Emma in the city, he was always on alert. It was his job to protect Emma and he would always protect her. Jackson stood up, he wrapped an arm around Emma and started to walk forward, but noticed three more figures headed their way.

He didn't want to assume they meant harm, but he recognized the dark clothing material. The shirts and pants they wore were black like the night, but they would shimmer like sheer. The Nightmares, minions of the Nightmare King.

"Jack," Emma said picking up on her brother's tension.

Jackson began to walk across the street, his arm still around Emma protectively, but stopped in his tracks when someone fell in front of him. A man in all black clothing now stood before him, his face covered by a ski mask.

"Well what do we have here," the man said, "What are you two doing out this late?"

"First it's eight o'clock and second why is that any of your business," Jackson said sharply.

The man replied, "It gets pretty dangerous around here when the sun goes down."

Jackson wanted to make a move to leave, but his exits were blocked by the group of men. Lately the Nightmares had been kidnapping children and then returning them the next day or the next week. The children were usually unscathed, but all the children were haunted by nightmares. Doctors chalked it up to trauma, but the public had different ideas.

Jackson brought Emma behind him as he said, "We don't want any trouble."

"Of course not," replied the masked men in front of him, "And there's no trouble here."

Jackson narrowed his eyes at the man. He held Emma protectively as he tried to think of a plan to get Emma to safety. One man on the left reached for Emma, but Jackson shoved her back and grabbed the man's arm. Jackson used his strength and pulled the man to the ground. This set the other men into action.

"Run Emma," Jackson shouted as he tried to keep the men away from her.

Never had Jackson been so thankful for his dad making him take those martial arts classes. He could hold his own in a fight, he just hoped this was enough to keep them away from Emma.

"Jack," Emma shrieked as a man caught her.

Jackson's heart stopped when he saw the man lift Emma and run away.

"No," Jackson shouted as he tried to fend off the attackers.

He made a move to Emma, but he couldn't get to her. Two men subdued Jackson, all his efforts to escape their grip were pointless.

"Emma," Jackson shouted at the top of his lungs as he continued to struggle.

It was no use. The man and Emma were gone. One man, Jackson wasn't sure which one, had punched him hard in the face causing his world to spin and black spots to fill his vision. Pain pulsed through him, every part of his body ached as the men continued to attack him. He couldn't give up, but he was so tired and weak. They shoved Jackson onto the ground, the air knocked out of his lungs as his vision blurred.

Suddenly the men were disappearing. They were there one minute, there was a flash of blue and they were gone. Jackson forced his eyes to stay open, but his eyelids only got heavier. For a moment, he gave into the darkness, allowing it to consume him. _Jack!_ Emma's scream woke him in an instant. Was she here? Had she escaped? No, she hadn't. He was alone in the street, lying on his side.

"Can you hear me?"

He heard a voice say, it was sweet sounding like honey and gentle as a feather. The voice, foreign yet familiar to him at the same time.

"You need to stay awake."

The voice told him sternly, but her voice sounded far away. The Snow Queen had taken out the nightmares and immediately went to Jackson's aid. At first she thought she should go after his sister first, but for the time being she would be safe. The kidnapped children were never harmed physically unless they tried to escape, knew valuable information or caused trouble.

The Snow Queen knew Emma didn't fit any of the categories, therefore she would be alright for now. Taking off her gloves, the Snow Queen placed one hand under Jackson's neck and the other held onto his right shoulder. Carefully she pulled him onto her lap in order to keep his upper body supported. She knew he would have several bruises, but from the looks of it, nothing appeared broken.

When her backup arrived, the head doctor would be able to tell her if anything was seriously wrong with him. Once he was safe, she would go after the Nightmares and save his sister.

"You have to stay with me," the Snow Queen said, her voice piece turned off, "Come on Jack, please."

Jackson was slipping into unconsciousness, but the sound of her voice was keeping him awake. Although it felt like his ears were clouded and her voice muffled and far away, he would recognize the sound anywhere. The voice of the angel who haunted his dreams, who lived in memories and crowded his thoughts.

"Elsa," Jackson said, his voice barely above a whisper, "Emma… they… they took her… my sister."

"It's going to be okay Jack," the Snow Queen said, "I promise, I will get your sister back and you will be okay."

Jackson looked up at the Snow Queen. The last thing he saw were her cerulean eyes looking at him with worry before the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It was two in the morning when Jackson woke up, his head pounding and body sore from the beat down he had received earlier. Jackson opened his eyes to see bright LED lights overhead sending a wave of pain through his head. Quickly he shut his eyes and let the darkness consume him for a moment. This time he slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the bright lights above.

He was in what looked like a nurse's office, like the ones people would see at schools. He pushed himself upright to fast, causing him to groan in pain. His cheat ached, his head hurt and there was a sharp pain under his right rib. Jackson collapsed on the bed in defeat, he couldn't get up, but he had to. Emma was still out there. The Nightmares took her, he had let them take her and now he risked losing the most precious thing he had. No, he wouldn't lose her.

He promised he would watch her. He promised his dad, he promised his mom. He promised Emma.

"You're awake," a voice belonging to a young man said, "Here let me help you." J

ackson wanted to protest, but his throat hurt too much to speak yet. Instead he let the man come over to his side. The man looked a few years older than Jackson with brown eyes, jet black hair and peach-tan skin. Perhaps the skin tone description was off, but Jackson could tell he was Asian descent. Whether Japanese, Chinese or Korean, he wasn't entirely sure. The man bent down, pressed a button on the side of Jackson's bed and it began to rise.

Once Jackson was sitting upright, he spoke, "Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here?"

"You are in an infirmary, my name is Dr Tadashi Hamada and El- ahem the Snow Queen and Nightfury brought you here," Tadashi told him.

"The Snow Queen," Jackson said breathless.

The last memory before he blacked flashed through his mind. It wasn't the Snow Queen who was there, it was Elsa. No. He must have imagined it was Elsa, after all his head was hit really hard.

"Yes, she found you being attacked by the Nightmares and brought you here," Tadashi replied, "As for your condition, nothing is seriously damaged. I need to test you to see if you have a concussion. Snow told me you blacked out, but that could either be from head trauma or pain levels, maybe even just shock."

"Wait," Jackson said, "My sister, Emma. T-The Nightmares have her."

Tadashi shook his head, "Not anymore. Emma stopped by three hours ago to check on you."

Jackson's eyes widened in surprise, "But I saw them take her. She's here, she's okay?"

"She's doing fine, no injuries," Tadashi told him, "Shortly after you were brought here, Snow left again and returned with the recently kidnapped children. One was named Emma. She had brown eyes, brown hair and fair skin. Not to mention a little birthmark under her right eye."

"That's my sister," Jackson said with a relieved smile.

"I can go get her if you wish," Tadashi suggested.

Jackson nodded, but winced at the movement, "Thank you."

Tadashi offered him a kind smile before leaving the room. The young man definitely understood what Jackson was going through and being worried about his younger sister. After, Tadashi had come to this place with a similar situation involving his younger brother, Hiro.

"How is he," asked a friend wearing black and green. The young man before Tadashi wore a green long sleeve shirt, brown pants and a brown jacket. He was a few years younger than Tadashi and about a few inches shorter.

"I see you took off the Night Fury costume," Tadashi said with a grin, "Anyway Jackson's doing okay. I still want to test him for a concussion, but after a quick observation, he seems to be alright. You on watch?"

The teen ran his fingers through his brown hair, "Until SQ comes back. Emma was clinging to her and she didn't have it in her to turn her away."

"Well it is her brother in there Hic," Tadashi said, "Where is the boss now?"

"Still with Emma," Hiccup replied, "She's in the NA room with her."

Tadashi nodded and went to go find the two girls.

* * *

Elsa felt guilty. Looking down at the sleeping nine year old in her arms only made it worse for her. It had been her fault that she had been taken to the Caves, the Nightmare King's old hideout. At first Elsa had believed Pitch had abandoned it entirely and didn't think to investigate it again. Now she realized what a fool she was for not going there again.

It had been luck that brought her to the Caves and allowed her to save a dozen children, including Emma, from the hands of Pitch. The little girl had been the youngest of the group and the most afraid. When Elsa or the Snow Queen found her, she could practically feel the fear dripping off her. If there was one thing the Snow Queen and Elsa knew was that Pitch loved fear and anything to do with the emotion. Elsa leaned back into the head rest with a sigh.

She was currently lying in middle mattress of the king sized beds. The New Arrivals Room, or NA room, was where all newcomers would stay for the night until they could be given a room or sent home. Right now seven of the twelve kids Elsa had brought here were sleeping on the beds. Four king sized beds were pushed together allowing the kids to spread out and sleep comfortably.

The younger ones of the group, like Emma and Ky, wanted Elsa to stay right next to them. The older kids, although none could say it, wanted Elsa to stay with them. After all she was the one who save them. She was their hero now.

"Psst," she heard a voice say, "Elsa, you here?"

The door cracked opened, revealed Tadashi making Elsa grin despite the nervousness in her stomach. If Tadashi was here, it was to tell her about Jackson or the other kid who had been found injured earlier.

"Yes, I'm in here," Elsa whispered, "How is he?"

"Come out of there and bring Emma if she's with you," Tadashi whispered back and stepped away from the door.

Carefully, Elsa carried Emma off of the bed and over the sleeping children. Years of training and Elsa was able to sneak her away around anything and not make a sound. Sleepily, Emma rested her head on Elsa's shoulder and let her arms relax around Elsa's neck.

"What's up," Elsa said softly once outside of the NA room.

Tadashi answered, "Jackson's awake."

Those words caused Elsa's heart to stop and Emma's eyes to open. Her brown eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she looked up at Tadashi. He was nice to her earlier, even gave her a chocolate bar while she sat with her brother. When she saw Jackson's sleeping there with bandages and ice, she had been really worried and scared for her older brother. Tadashi had promised her that he would be okay. If he was awake, then that meant he must have been okay.

"Hey," Elsa said gently causing Emma to look at her, "This means Jack is okay. Tadashi will lead you back to him."

Emma shook her head and tightened her grip on Elsa, "No, Elsa don't leave me. Please."

Tears filled the little girl's eyes at the thought. There was no one else in this building besides Jack that she trusted and right now he was hurt. Although Emma had few memories of Elsa being around with her or her brother, there were definitely some that she held onto. Elsa was something familiar in a foreign place.

Elsa held back a sigh and nodded, "Okay. Let's go see your brother."

Emma nodded, she swallowed her cries and put her head on Elsa's shoulder again. Tadashi lead the way, Elsa followed a few steps behind. How was she going to face Jackson after all these years? What would he say when he saw her? He must already know who she is. I don't understand. Why can't we see each other anymore?

Elsa could hear his voice echoing in her mind. The day she stopped talking to him, the day she started to push him away. The memory was clear and sharp as glass in her head. It was two days after school started, the beginning of their sixth grade year when she pushed him away. Five-six years have passed since then and in all that time, he was still Jack.

Elsa didn't know who she was anymore. All she knew was she had to be whatever someone else needed her to be.

"Here we go," Tadashi said, pulling Elsa from her thoughts.

The trio now stood in front of a white door, the name written on the piece of chalk board that hung there read Jackson. Elsa desperately wanted to set Emma down and leave her with Tadashi, but she couldn't. Sooner or later, Elsa knew she would have to face him. For the first time in years, he would see who she really was. He would see the truth.

Tadashi opened the door. Jackson was standing in the middle of the room, his back to the trio as they entered the little room. He didn't look to see who had entered, the mirror on the wall in front of him told him who was there. The doctor who helped him, the little girl who lit up his world and the girl who left a mark on his heart. His mixed blue and brown eyes stared into her blue ones. They were blue like the sky and shimmered like the stars. Her eyes were the sea. Her blonde hair shined like moonlight mixed with golden rays.

Elsa's breath caught in her throat as she stared into his eyes in the mirror. There was no hate or anger in his eyes as he looked at her. Only pain, betrayal and strangely, his eyes were still happy. Elsa figured it was Emma who had caused it. Only Jackson knew the truth.

"Jack," Emma cried with teary brown eyes.

Jackson turned around to look at his little sister with love, happiness and relief. Ever since Tadashi had left, he had been worried about how she was doing and if she was injured. It turns out the doctor had been right when he told him she was okay. Elsa set Emma down and the little girl ran over to her brother. Jackson bent down, his arms waiting for the little body to go into them.

He held her in his arms tightly, afraid to let go. Emma buried her face into the crook of his neck and cried, letting the tears she had held back slip down her cheeks.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Emma mumbled into his shoulder.

Jackson smiled, "Not as glad as I am. I was so worried about you Flee."

Emma let go of Jackson and smiled at him, "You didn't have to. Elsa saved me and the other kids from the bad guys. She's a hero, I knew she would be."

Jackson tore his gaze away from Emma to look at the said hero. Her platinum blonde hair was in a low bun, flyaways hung loosely on either side of her face. The grey tank top she wore fit her frame perfectly and showed off her shoulders. The blue pants reached the floor and covered the top of her sock footed feet.

 _I may not be a fan of shoes, but I don't think I could walk everywhere barefoot like you_.

Jackson stared at Elsa and said, "Thank you, for saving my sister."

Elsa only nodded in reply. For the next few minutes, Tadashi did a quick evaluation of Jackson, Emma by his side and Elsa as an observer. She would have left, but the look in both Emma and Jackson's eyes made her stay. Emma didn't want her to leave. Jackson needed her to stay. When Tadashi was done, he cleared Jackson saying to get rest and the bruises would clear in a couple of days.

Emma told Jackson goodnight and left the way she came. She went back to the NA room with Tadashi as a guide. He insisted he give her treat on the way for being a great helper when tending to some of Jackson's bruises and head earlier. Jackson and Elsa watched them leave and a tense silence filled the room Elsa was ready to leave then, but just as she reached for the door handle, Jackson stopped her.

"Elsa wait," Jackson said pleadingly, "I need to talk to you."

Elsa stood frozen in her spot, her hand hovering over the silver handle. All the memories and emotions tied to Jack filled Elsa's mind. All the times she saw him in the halls or in class. All the times she wanted to speak to him. All the times he smiled her way and she didn't return it. All the good times they shared as children. All the bad times they fought through.

Jackson could see the slight tremble of Elsa's bare shoulders, like she was fighting herself on what to do next. Careful not to startle her, he walked over to her and hesitantly, he placed a hand on her shaking shoulder. Elsa tensed at the touch, but she didn't flinch or move away from him which was a good sign. Slowly, Elsa looked over her shoulder at him. Her cerulean shined with unshed tears.

"Elsa," Jackson said softly.

"Wait," Elsa said turning around to face him, swallowing her tears she said, "Let me talk first… I was the Ice Princess, but now I'm the Snow Queen."

Jackson nodded in understanding, he wasn't sure if he was surprised by the revelation or if he should react at all. A part of him he supposed already knew that she was the Snow Queen. The first he met the Snow Queen and looked into her blue eyes, he knew. They were the same blue eyes he had fallen in love with, the ones that sparkled.

"Is that why," Jackson asked, his voice coated in sorrow.

He didn't need to finish the question for Elsa to understand what he was asking her. Is that why you abandoned me? Is that why you pushed me away? There were many possibilities of what he could finish the sentence with, but they all had the same meaning. Why did she leave him behind?

Before Elsa was the Snow Queen, she went by Ice Princess. That started a few weeks after fifth grade started. It wasn't until ninth grade started that the Snow Queen came into the picture. Most people assumed it was the same girl, but others believed it was different person trying to show off the original by being a copy.

Elsa bit her lip and nodded, "Yes… What I do- it can hurt a lot of people, especially the ones I care about."

"Did you ever think you could tell me," Jackson asked sadly, "That I would keep your secret?"

Elsa wrapped her arms around her stomach, "I knew you would keep it, but I didn't want you involved. I didn't want anyone I cared about involved… When you are healed I can tell you the full story, no more secrets. But for now you cannot tell anyone about this, about me."

"I would-" Jackson started, but Elsa stopped him.

"No Jackson," Elsa said firmly pushing her emotions aside, "No one can ever know about this. I'll explain why tomorrow. Don't worry about your mother not knowing where you or your sister are either. Tonight you are at Hiccup's house and Emma is at Cloe's house."

Jackson was ready to question Elsa, but before he had the chance she was out of the door and had disappeared down the hall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

The next morning, Elsa was sitting on the roof with her legs swinging over the side. In order to get to the roof, Elsa would go to the attic and climb to the roof. It was divided into three parts, the middle section where a person would enter from, it had a black fence around it to keep anyone up there from falling off. The other two sections were open unlike the middle part. Elsa rested her forehead on the metal bars as she looked at the ground below. She had never been afraid of heights, in fact she actually preferred a high view above the ground in order to see more.

Based on the structure and frame of the house, it was a colonial mansion that was built further away than a number of other mansions and houses in the area. Elsa could still remember the day she found it, abandoned, empty and decrepit. At the time she had been fourteen when she moved her base of operations here and made this place a home for all the kids who needed a home.

This place was a home for orphans, people who had nowhere to go and anyone willing to help in the fight against Pitch Black. Burgess was the battlefield while the rest of the nation was in a shadow war. All illegal activity was picking up speed and only a few people were willing to fight it. The Snow Queen, Night Fury, Ryder and more.

"Elsa," she heard a voice say behind her.

Elsa didn't have to turn around to know who it was, she could tell by the way he said her name. However she did turn around to face him because he shouldn't be here. He should be in the infirmary part of the house, resting and getting better, not climbing onto the roof.

"What are you doing here," Elsa asked him, "You should be resting."

Jackson shook his head, "I can't.. Not until I know the truth."

Using his strength, Jackson pushed himself onto the roof and moved over to Elsa. After Elsa had left him, he hadn't been able to relax long enough to sleep. Instead he stayed awake, his thoughts only focused on Elsa, the Snow Queen, Emma and this place. Never had he been so lost and confused. Well except for the time when Elsa left him behind. Jackson always wanted to believe there was a reason she broke his heart. He knew there must have been something. Could it have been the secrets she had been carrying all these years? Elsa stared ahead at the woods in front of the large home, her eyes glossy from unshed tears.

"You remember when I was eight," Elsa started, "And my parents were killed?"

How could he forget. The media had been all over the story, had been all over Elsa and her younger siblings. Her parents were brutally murdered in the most cruel way. Elsa had come home with her little brother in her arms and little sister beside her. A neighbor had been watching them for the afternoon and dropped them off. When Elsa had opened the door, the first thing she saw was a pool of blood on the hardwood floors. Her father's blood. He had been closest to the door, her mother had been killed in the living room.

Immediately the eight year old slammed the door and pushed her siblings away. The neighbor had seen Elsa push her siblings into the grass and quickly go inside. Elsa stood there, screaming for her parents to wake up. That she, Anna and Olaf needed them. There was never a reply.

"Yes," Jackson said hoarsely, remembering how much pain his friend was in.

"The state wanted to separate Anna, Olaf and myself," Elsa said, "They believed the killers would be after us and that it would be better if we were not together. I disagreed, but no one cared what we thought."

"You three were separated," Jackson said, remembering how heartbroken Elsa had been when she was by his house.

They were letting Elsa say goodbye to her friend, only because she was giving him her cat. It had been her mother's cat, but since Elsa was moving to a foster home she couldn't keep the animal. The only person she trusted enough with the creature was Jack.

Elsa took a shaky breath before continuing, "I always found where Anna and Olaf were staying. Olaf was in a good home, a newly wed couple was taking good care of him. Anna had been placed in a group home of all girls. At first I was worried, but when I saw that Anna was for the most part happy… it made the separation easier."

"Not on you," Jackson said pointedly.

Elsa chuckled, "It was easier for me because they were happy, well fed and they weren't treated badly."

Jackson frowned, old memories piling up, "But you were. I remember the bruises-"

"I remember everything," Elsa interrupted, "Yes I was abused in my foster homes, but I didn't care. Whenever I snuck off to see them, they were doing fine. Anna was her usual cheery self and Olaf was growing properly, so… it worked out. All of third grade I lived like this."

Jackson remembered how horrible that year had been for Elsa. That was when she changed, she became more serious and distant from everything and everyone. However she was the same with Jackson. Whenever they were together at school, she would cling to him because he was all she had to hold onto. He was her only stable ground.

Jackson was always there for her, whenever she needed him he was there in an instant. When he first noticed the bruises, he asked her about them, but she always lied. It wasn't because she didn't trust him, but she didn't want to face the consequences if people learned of what was happening to her. Jackson had told his parents about the bruises Elsa had and they suspected it was child abuse. However there was never enough evidence.

"Why wouldn't you tell anyone," Jackson asked, watching Elsa with a steady gaze.

A breathless chuckle left Elsa's lips, "Because I was close to Anna. I was close to Olaf. My siblings were okay in their homes, I saw them at school and everything was okay for awhile. That was all that mattered to me then. Besides, when I did leave her home, I went to another and was neglected. Every home I went to sucked."

Jackson made no comment at her words. That entire year, Elsa was suffering, but she so quiet about it that no one ever knew. Jackson wanted to believe he knew what was going on, but he really didn't know. Only now did he learn what was happening to her all those years ago.

"I ran away from my foster home and started living on my own shortly after the fourth foster home," Elsa said looking at the ground down below.

"When did you do this," Jackson questioned surprised, "I went over to your foster house and you were there in fourth grade."

Elsa shook her head, "Not at the end. I took off around February and lived on my own, not that anyone noticed or cared. One night I found Anna had run off. I found her the next day and insisted she go back to her foster home, but she refused. Every time I brought her back, she would just leave again. The two of us stayed together and after three months, I got Olaf back. So at the end of fourth grade, I was on my own taking care of Anna and Olaf."

"How old were Anna and Olaf then," Jackson asked wondering how Elsa managed to take care of two young kids.

Anna was three years younger while Olaf was roughly seven-eight years younger than Elsa. Right now Olaf was a small ten year old boy with an active imagination and enough energy to power the world for a million years. Anna was a cheery and happy fourteen year old year old girl. She would turn fifteen in the winter. When Olaf was born, in June, Elsa was seven and Anna was four. Mr and Mrs Arendelle were murdered two weeks after Elsa's eighth birthday, August 4th.

"He couldn't have been two years old yet," Elsa said thoughtfully, "All of third and most of fourth grade, the three of us were living in foster care. It wasn't until the end of fourth grade that I was living on my own with Anna and Olaf."

"What about in fifth grade," Jackson asked her, trying to piece her story together.

He couldn't believe that Elsa had been by herself, taking care of her younger siblings all that time. What surprised him the most was that he never noticed. Not once did he ever consider that Elsa was homeless.

"That summer, a few days after Olaf's birthday I met someone," Elsa explained interrupting Jackson's thoughts, "He told me he could help me. Ever since I started taking care of Anna and Olaf on my own, he had been watching me. He told me, he could make things better for my siblings and I. That I could protect them, give them the best chance. He offered me a deal I couldn't refuse."

Elsa paused for a few moments, collecting her thoughts and letting the memories flow through her mind. It had been a long time since she allowed herself to think back to those dark days.

Taking another breath, Elsa went on, "He never told me his name until later, but that didn't matter to me at the time. What mattered was he gave my siblings a home, beds, clothes, and food. That summer, everything was fine… When fifth grade started, I began to pay my debt. That year, he trained me in a number of fighting styles, taught me how to use different weapons, how to build weapons… He taught me how to survive and then I became the Ice Princess in sixth grade." Elsa looked at Jackson, her blue dark from the memories, "That's why I pushed you away. I fought crime, I helped in crime. It was bad enough I had Anna and Olaf to worry about, I couldn't worry about anyone else… In eighth grade, I quit. I took off with Anna and Olaf and we started over. Although he knew who I was and where I would go, he never followed or attacked. He let us walk for whatever reason. I spent all of eighth grade building this place, a place of refuge."

"Who needed refuge," Jackson asked, "And why did you become the Snow Queen?"

Elsa shrugged, "Anyone who needed help, I let in. Mostly kids came, but there was the occasional young adult or adult. When I realized how messed up this city is, how he was taking control of everything, I knew he had to be stopped. So i changed my name, started a shadow army and began to fight the Nightmares… Jack, you can never tell anyone about this place or who I am. If anyone were to find out about this place…."

"Elsa," Jackson said, "I promise, I'll never tell another soul about this place or about you."

Elsa looked at Jackson with tears in her eyes as she said hoarsely, "Why aren't you mad at me?"

Jackson scooted closer to Elsa and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I was never angry with you. Of course it hurt when you left, but I knew there was a reason. I wanted to be mad, but I never could be. I forgive you for leaving Els, I know it mustn't have been an easy thing to do."

Elsa had not expected those words to leave Jackson's lips. All these years, she believed he was angry with her. That he hated her for what she had done to him. When he asked for the session on Tuesday, she thought it was for nostalgia or he was desperate. Although she could tell by the look in his eyes, he wanted to be with her, she didn't know why.

Jackson was a good person, a heart that was big enough to hold the universe. He forgave as though it were easy, as if it wasn't hard to forgive someone who betrayed them. As if she never hurt him. Elsa had done so many terrible things in her life, had hurt so many people and had been hurt so many times. When her humanity was crumbling, Jack always seemed to repair it and keep it standing.

Salty tears slipped down her face without her permission, along with the hitches in her breath as she tried to stop the sobs from rising in her throat. Jackson could tell Elsa was trying hard not to let herself cry, but it was a battle she wasn't going to win. Without thinking, he pulled her into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her rigid shoulders. A choked sob escaped Elsa as she wrapped her arms around him, the sweet smell of mint filling her lungs.

"How can you forgive me so easily," Elsa cried, her entire body trembling, "I thought you'd be furious with me."

Jackson shook his head, "I was never angry with you. I was sad because my friend was unhappy and I had no way to make her smile again."

Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, a vain attempt to stop the tears from falling. They continued to slide down her flushed cheeks. Jackson pulled away first, he looked into Elsa teary blue eyes, her nose and cheeks red from the crying. When they were younger, Elsa wore her heart on her sleeve. All her emotions might as well have been written on her forehead. It wasn't until fourth grade that she began to hide all her emotions. Elsa wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. She hated how she couldn't always control her emotions, especially when it came to Jackson. She stood from her seat and looked away from Jackson.

"You need to go," Elsa whispered, "Ryder can take you and Emma home.. Tadashi will give you something for your head and ah-"

Jackson knew what Elsa was trying to do, but he wasn't going to let her get away with it. He got onto his feet and stood beside her.

"Elsa," Jackson said softly.

"No, I can't drag you into this," Elsa replied harshly, still not looking at him, "I promised myself you wouldn't get involved."

Jackson shook his head, not that she could see since she refused to even glance his way. Jackson grabbed her hand and gripped it tightly in his own, as if he didn't hold on she would slip right through his fingers. Elsa jumped when his hand held her own, not used to any physical contact from anyone other than her younger siblings, but she didn't pull away.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jackson told her, "I won't tell anyone your secret, but that doesn't mean I will forget it. No matter how much you push me away, I won't go. I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."


End file.
